BCLTA BULLETIN – August 21, 2009
CONTENTS
Announcements
Featured Grants
Featured Resources
Upcoming Events
Member Information Requests
Advertisements
ANNOUNCEMENTS
BCLTA hereby extends a sincere thank you to all the library trustees, staff, patrons and supporters who communicated their concerns over potential funding cuts to the provincial government and held events welcoming provincial politicians into your libraries. Your help with this summer’s advocacy campaign was crucial to ensuring that cuts to libraries were not deeper and we congratulate you on your efforts. Please stay tuned and keep informed as further advocacy work is planned for the coming months...
Councillor Harder is currently the president of the Canadian Library Trustees Association and is on the executive of the Canadian Library Association. As board member of ULC, she is well placed to gather best practices from other library systems that will be invaluable as Ottawa embarks on building a new central library in the downtown core. “I am honoured and very excited to be sitting on this board”, says Ms. Harder. “Many of the libraries that are members of the Council have been through the experience of building new central libraries and I am eager to learn from their experience.”
FEATURED GRANTS
See http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_releases_2009-2013/2009CITZ0002-000116.htm for the full news release and http://www.embracebc.ca/ for more information.
Has your library taken advantage of a grant or funding program you’d like to share with the rest of the trustee community? If so, please contact Errin Morrison at execdirector@bclta.org with the details.
The following is a reprinted July 30 BLCA listserve message from Executive Director Alane Wilson on the topic of library funding and advocacy… In this time of uncertain funding to libraries in British Columbia, the library community has become acutely interested in advocacy efforts on behalf of this sector, both from within the community and beyond. Elected officials are usually the main focus of targeted advocacy when funding is at risk.
Because of this, I went back to the 2008 OCLC research report "From Awareness to Funding" that investigated the basic question "can advocacy create funding awareness and ultimately increase funding for public libraries?" Some of you heard George Needham make a presentation on the report's findings last September in Vancouver.
Among the rich results reported on is advice and suggestions from elected officials surveyed for increasing library funding in their communities. I think these are worth passing along as we all plan our responses to any cuts in funding levels, in the near term. The full report is available here http://www.oclc.org/reports/funding/default.htm.
As we gather our resources to rally support for BC's libraries (something we should do on an ongoing basis anyway), remember that stories are far more powerful than data. Yes, it is important how many more people are using BC public libraries in tough economic times, but stories from people in your community carry more weight. Libraries are places of transformation and telling stories about this is critical. See this web site from the New Jersey State Library on their campaign, Solving Life's Problems http://solvinglifesproblems.org/.
Advice from elected officials (from pp3-12 & 3-13 of “From Awareness to Funding”).
1. Stress the library's return on investment (ROI) to the community
Elected officials acknowledge and appreciate the public library's value to their community, often referring to this as the return on investment, or ROI, of the library. Officials noted that the library's ROI is often unique to a community and can change over time. This value ranges from keeping children off the street to education of residents leading to wealth creation for the community. Officials also speak frequently of the universal and important role libraries play in providing access to technology for the broader community.
2. Build strategic partnerships
Elected officials interviewed believed that the libraries have a funding challenge, but admit that the library often falls lower in the pecking order for financing than other public services, particularly public safety. Finding opportunities to partner or create joint ventures with other public services and programs increases the level of elected official support.
3. Be proactive
Although elected officials recognize the need for increased library funding, they are rarely, if ever, the first to push for increased funding support for libraries. The new library projects they mentioned were typically initiated by a passionate and committed library director, a small group of voters or by private groups including Friends of the Library organizations.
4. Engage voters in the campaign
Elected officials said they and their colleagues are most likely to be influenced to support an increase in library funding in response to pressure from their constituents. There is an opportunity to influence the elected officials by leveraging their recognition of the library's value to the community.
5. Stress the broad appeal of the library
Elected officials can take on the cause of the library without substantially alienating or competing with another core group of funders or political party supporters. The public library represents a safe, neutral topic on which an elected official could campaign or speak with broad appeal to nonpartisan audiences.
Elected officials cited a number of important components required of a successful library funding campaign:
- Messaging that focuses on the broader value of the library to the community, specifically a community gathering place, access to technology and programs for teenagers and other groups;
- A passionate, committed and active champion(s) who can rally support among the elected officials and community influencers;
- Civic engagement, including a commitment to speak with every relevant group in the community to encourage grassroots support;
- A willingness to partner with other public services in a joint effort where strategically advantageous; and
- The ability to ask for the right support at the right time.
Highlights include a musical recital by Pat Unruh and the Vancouver Viols group, with vocals and accompaniment based on a medieval Spanish chant manuscript (published between 1575 and 1625) and first digitized by UBC Library. Dr. Evan Kreider, a noted music scholar, will speak about this curatorial gem, and five of the canvases featuring details from the manuscript will be on display.
Ingrid Parent, the new University Librarian, will introduce the reception, which runs from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Lillooet Room on level three of the Learning Centre. Refreshments will be served.
Canvas Treasures are large artworks printed in a variety of sizes with archival-quality ink on hand-stretched canvases, and are accompanied by descriptions highlighting the image’s history and distinct features. Proceeds from the sale of these works support UBC Library. An exhibit will be on display in the Learning Centre gallery on level two from September 21 to October 12, and can be viewed at www.ubcvault.ca/canvastreasures.
Libraries now have an opportunity to demonstrate, clearly and forcefully, the vital impact they have on their communities and users. This message is often subdued or lost in better times - now is the chance for libraries to emphasize their value to society and the return on investment they generate. Libraries of all sorts provide the opportunity for anyone, regardless of circumstances, to gain access to the information and resources they need to equip themselves to face future challenges.
This is also a time to lobby those who fund libraries. And we approach them not looking for bail-outs or hand-outs, but for investment into stable institutions with growing client lists and increasing demands for services. Investment in libraries addresses needs that have positive outcomes: research and study, job skills development, entertainment, community building. We will feature a panel of speakers who will provide expert advice, tips on advocacy, and insights into how to turn current challenges into opportunities for change.
Please stay tuned for teleconference details...
BCLTA welcomes the submission of upcoming events of interest to trustees. Please send notice to Errin Morrison at execdirector@bclta.org to have your event included in next week’s bulletin.
Do you have an information need, issue or concern you’d like to put to the larger trustee community? If so, consider submitting a member information request to Errin Morrison at execdirector@bclta.org. Often our best resource is each other!
Advertising in BCLTA’s Open Door newsletter, weekly member bulletin and website is now available to businesses, consulting firms and others who provide goods and services of interest to library trustees and public libraries. Please contact Errin Morrison at execdirector@bclta.org for information on BCLTA advertising criteria and pricing.